Witness My Death

The murder of a pregnant girl in a Welsh mining valley, and the subsequent arrest in what the police considered an open and shut case, was a double blow to Taliesin Rees, who had been the local doctor for as long as many of the valley's inhabitants could remember. Both accused and victim were his patients.

Rees, a widower, was a dedicated doctor, loved for his humanity. He blamed himself for having failed these two patients, and also for difficulties within his partnership, which a disputed decision was threatening to disrupt. Against this background, he found little comfort in the victory of a small environmentalists' group on two important issues. There was sometimes a smell of corruption about planning in the valley, where powerful local interests were at work.

Despite the police view that the case was closed, Rees set himself to investigate the death of the girl who had made such a strong impression upon him, and who was, he felt certain, no conventional victim of her plight. His enquiries led him into sensitive areas, into confrontation and deadly danger, as the corruption of man and nature in the valley took a dramatic and inexorable revenge.

Roy Lewis is never better than when at home in a Welsh setting, as readers of his widely acclaimed A Question of Degree will recall. Once again, plot and characters are rooted firmly in their environment, to produce a story of satisfying solidity.


Genre: Mystery